Device for preventing the sagging of garage doors



J. KUNZ DEVICE FOR PREVENTING THE SAGGING 0F GARAGE DOORS Filed Jan. 7, 1935 INVENTOR 5 JACOB KUNZ Patented Jan. 14, 1936 PATENT OFFICE DEVICE FOR PREVENTING THE SAGGING OF GARAGE DOORS Jacob Kunz, Hillside, N. J.

Application January 7, 1935, Serial No. 636

8 Claims.

This invention relates to improved devices for bracing and reinforcing or for preventing the sagging of garage and other heavy doors which can be easily and cheaply made, and which is 5 easily installed and effective in use for its intended purposes.

Swinging garage doors are supported at one edge by the hinges and-the weight of the door tends to cause the door to sag at its other edge.

The devices of the present invention are intended particularly for fastening to swinging garage doors diagonally, one end near the upper hinge and the other end near the remote lower corner, whereby the outer edge of the garage door can be adjustably supported in part, by the device, from near the upper hinge. The devices are also adapted for use for bracing or reinforc-- ing doors, as well as for preventing sagging.

' The improved devices of the present invention are in general made up of two fiat straps of relatively thin metal which are of sufiicient strength for their intended purpose, and each of these straps is provided at one end with means for securing it to the garage door, such as holes for screws or bolts, and at the other end with an improved attachment through which a bolt may be passed to permit pulling of the two parts together.. V

Metal strapsparticularly where they are of considerable length, and are flexible, are readily bent. The improved attachments whichare secured to one end of each of the straps are so constructed that, when a bolt is passed therethrough, and the nut on the bolt is tightened, and the straps pulled together, the straps will remain flat against the door, and in alignment with each other, and without any tendency to buckle, even though the bolt is offset and arranged somewhat abovedbut parallel to, the straps themselves.

The attachments which are secured to the ends of the straps may vary somewhat in character, but in general the endof the strap is itself so modified that the attachments can be secured to it by means of cut-away portions of the strap, so that the pull on the attachments, through which the bolt is passed, will cause a shearing pull, and so that the attachment can not be pulled away from the strap without shearing the metal of either the attachment or the strap.

The attachments are made of sheet metal, so that they can be readily stamped in proper form and bent to the desired shape, but they are nevertheless so constructed as to permit firm attachment to the straps and to permit the passage oi the bolt therethrough, in such a way as to hold the straps in line with each other. 7

The invention will be further described in connection with the accompanying drawing, but it will be understood that the invention is not limited thereto.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is an elevation of a door to which the device of the present invention has been applied;

Fig. 2 is an isometric representation of a preferred form of attachment adapted to be fastened to the end of a strap;

Fig. 3 shows the end of a strap modified so that the device of Fig. 2 may be applied to it;

Fig. 4 illustrates the method of fastening the ends of two straps together by means 01- a threaded bolt and nut;

Fig. 5 is an end View showing the method of attaching the device of Fig. 2 to a strap;

Figs. 6 to 14. illustrate modified forms of construction of the straps, attachments and meth-- ods of uniting them together.

Fig. 1 shows a garage door with two of the devices attached thereto, one diagonally arranged for preventing sagging of the door, and one horizontally arranged near the top of the door for bracing and reinforcing it.

Each of the devices shown in Fig. 1 is made up of two thin flexible metal straps I having at one end holes 2 for screwing or bolting the straps to the door and having attachments 3 at their other and adjacent ends through which the bolt 4 is passed having an adjusting nut 5 on one end. By tightening the nut on the bolt, the attachments and straps are pulled together so that the diagonally arranged device will prevent or overcome sagging, and so that the upper horizontal device will pull the upper edges of the door to gether or prevent them from pulling apart.

The preferred construction of the attachment is shown in Fig. 2 and is in the form of a box-like structure, stamped from sheet metal of appropriate weight and thickness and then bent into the shape shown. The side members 6 have projections or prongs I with spaces between them. The end portions 8 have holes 9 therethrough for the passage of a bolt and have extensions I0 bent around and closely engaging the side members 6. The end portions are also shown as having longitudinal projections ll.

One modified end of the thin metal strap, adapted for use with the attachment of Fig. 2, is shown in Fig. 3, this strap being cut away at its edges as indicated at l2 to leave projecting portions 13 between them. When theattachment of Fig. 2 is applied to the end of the strap shown in Fig. 3, the lugs I extend through the recesses l2 and are bent over as shown in Figs. 4 and 5 Where the bent over portions are indicated at I4. This clamps the attachment tightly to the end of the strap.

When a bolt is passed through the holes in the ends of the attachments, and when two attachments are thus secured together, as indicated in Fig. 4, and in Fig. l. the tightening of the nut on the bolt will pull the attachments, and the straps to which they are secured, together.

It will be noted from Fig. 4 that the bolt 4 t is raised somewhat above the thin metal strap 2, leaving ample room for the use of a wrench on the nut when it is desired to tighten the device. Nevertheless, although the bolt 4 is in a difierent plane from that of the thin metal strap I, there is no tendency to buckle these straps because they are held in alignment by the aligned holes in the attachment 3 through which the bolt passes; and the secure attachment of these attachments to the strap makes them for practical purposes in tegral with each other. The reinforced construc tion and arrangement of the attachments themselves gives them great rigidity, even though a heavy tension is applied by means of the bolt and nut. The projections H on the attachments give a somewhat increased surface contact of the attachments with the strap, but they can be omitted where this added surface contact is not required or desired.

The pull caused by the bolt on the attachments will be transmitted through the interlocking projections and recesses to the thin metal strap, but the construction and arrangement is such that even where a heavy shearing stress is thus applied, there will be little danger of shearing either the projections on the attachments or the projections on the strap with which they interlock.

The device described has the advantage that the thin metal straps can be shipped flat, without the attachments being secured to them, and the attachments can be separately shipped, and they can be secured together merely by applying the attachments to one end of the straps, and bending over the projections or prongs i with a hammer to secure the attachments and straps rigidly together, at the time of installation on the door.

Fig. 6 shows a modified construction of the end of a strap with somewhat deeper cut-away portions than shown in Fig. 3 for receiving the prongs I, and with the projecting portions I cut away so that, after the prongs l6 are in place and'bent over as indicated at Ya, at the bottom of Fig. 6, the projecting portions can themselves be bent with a hammer to clinch and-hold the lugs l' firmly secured to the strap, the bent over portion being indicated at IS in this figure.

In Fig. '7 a still further modified form of the end of the strap is shown, having slots 51 for receiving the projections or lugs I of the attachments which are then bent over and clinched much as in Fig. 5, but in this case being located in slots in the strap rather than in depressions or recesses at the edges of the strap, as in Fig. 3.

Fig. 8 shows a further modification in which the projections lb extend through slots in the strap l and are so shaped that they can be bent over with a hammer in the form shown at to hold the attachment and strap firmly locked to each other.

Figs. 9 and 10 show a further modification in which the end of the strap I is provided with a series of slots l8 through which project lugs It cut so as to form a bayonet joint with the lug, and, after the attachment has been applied to the strap, the projections can be bent over as indicated at to lock the lugs in place and prevent them from being withdrawn through the slots.

In the modifications shown in Figs. 11 and 12, the attachment is in the form of a long tubular member 2| having prongs 22 extending through slots in the strap l and bent over in opposite directions as indicated at 22.

The modification shown in Fig. 13 is in the form of a box-like attachment similar to that of Fig. 2 but with the lugs I and projections H omitted. In this case the attachment is turned upside down and is secured to the strap by spot welding or by riveting.

A construction of end 01' strap as shown in Fig. 14 is to be used, when additional strength is needed.

In all or the various modifications of the attachments shown, and in the modified forms of strap ends to which the attachments are secured, the attachments and strap ends are firmly secured together so as to avoid any danger of pulling the attachments from the strap ends when the devices are used.

In all of the various constructions there is a considerable distance between the ends of the attachments so that, when the bolt passes through them, the flexible straps are held in alignment with the bolts, even though the bolts are offset and in a plane different from and above the plane in which the straps lie. The straps can thus lie fiat against the garage door, without danger of buckling, even though a heavy tension be applied to the attachments through the pull of the bolt when the nut is tightened.

The present invention has the advantage that both the thin metal straps and the attachments used therewith can readily be made of sheet metal and secured together, at the time of use, with simple tools, such as a hammer. Nevertheless, the objections to sheet metal constructions are overcome by the reinforced construction of the attachments, and the manner in which the attachments are secured to the ends of the strap, to resist the maximum shearing stress caused by the pull on the device when used, while nevertheless holding the attachments and the flexible metal straps in proper alignment on the door.

I claim:

1. A device for bracing, reinforcing and preventing the sagging of garage'doors comprising,

two flexible metal straps having means permitting attachment of the straps at one end to the garage door, and having attachments at their other ends, said attachments being box-like structures made of sheet metal and being secured to the strap, each of said attachments extending some distance along the strap, and being provided with aligned holes in its end portions for the passage of a bolt for pulling the straps and attachments together, the arrangement being such that when a bolt is passed through said holes it is in a plane parallel to the straps and holds the straps in alignment.

2. A device for bracing, reinforcing and preventing the sagging of garage doors comprising two metal straps having means permitting attachment of the straps at one end to the garage door, and having attachments at their other ends, said attachments being box-like structures made of sheet metal and being secured to the strap in recessed relation therewith, each of said attachments extending some distance along the strap, and being provided with aligned holes in its end portions for the passage of a bolt for pulling the straps and attachments together, the arrangement being such that when a bolt is passed through said holes it is in a plane parallel to the straps and holds the straps in alignment.

3. A device for bracing, reinforcing and preventing the sagging of garage doors comprising two metal straps having means permitting attachment of the straps at one end to the garage door, and having attachments at their other ends, said attachments being made of sheet metal in the form or rectangular boxes having projections adapted to register with corresponding recesses in the edges of the straps, and being provided with aligned holes in their end portions for the passage of a bolt for pulling the straps and. attachments together, the arrangement being such that when a bolt is passed through said holes it is in a plane parallel to the straps and holds the straps in alignment.

4. A device for bracing, reinforcing and preventing the sagging of garage doors comprising two metal straps having means permitting attachment of the straps at one end to the garage door, and having attachments at their other ends,

' said attachments being made of sheet metal in the form of rectangular boxes having projections adapted'to register with corresponding recesses in the edges of the straps, and to extend through said recesses and to be bent over to firmly secure said attachments to said straps and being provided with aligned holes in their end portions for the passage of a bolt for pulling the straps and attachments together.

5. A device for bracing, reinforcing and preventing the sagging of garage doors comprising two metal straps having means permitting attachment of the straps at one end to the garage door, and having attachments at their other ends, said attachments being made of sheet metal in the form of rectangular boxes having projections adapted to register with corresponding recesses in the edges 01' the straps, said projections having cut-out portions adapted to allow portions of said projections to be bent over longitudinally to firmly secure said attachments and being provided with aligned holes in their end portions for the passage of a bolt for pulling the straps and attachments together.

6. A device for bracing, reinforcing and preventing the sagging of garage doors comprising two metal straps having means permitting attachment of the straps at one end to the garage door, and having attachments at their other ends, said attachments being made of sheet metal and having a longitudinal passage adapted for the passage of a bolt for pulling the straps and attachments together, and lugs adapted to pass through slots in the straps and be bent over to firmly secure the attachment to the strap, the arrangement being such that when the bolt is passed through said longitudinal passages it is in a plane parallel to the straps and holds the straps in alignment.

7. A device as in claim 3, in which the recesses in the straps are cut out in the edges thereof and in which the edges of the straps adjacent said recesses have other smaller recesses, whereby the corners of the straps adjacent the larger recesses may be bent over to aid in securing the attachment to the strap.

8. A device as set forth in claim 1 in which the ends of the strap have a series of slots therein, and the attachments have a series of lugs extending through said slots and bent over to hold the attachments and straps firmly together.

JACOB KUNZ. 

